Blue Trust Inc. Has $29,000 Stake in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO)

Blue Trust Inc. cut its position in Perdoceo Education Co. (NASDAQ:PRDO) by 37.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,102 shares of the company’s stock after selling 660 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Perdoceo Education were worth $29,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Polaris Capital Management LLC raised its position in Perdoceo Education by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC now owns 54,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 11,300 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Perdoceo Education by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,458,000 after buying an additional 26,142 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Perdoceo Education by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 162,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,309,000 after buying an additional 39,808 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Perdoceo Education during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Perdoceo Education by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.46% of the company’s stock.

Perdoceo Education Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of PRDO opened at $25.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.06. Perdoceo Education Co. has a 52 week low of $16.56 and a 52 week high of $29.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 5.45 and a current ratio of 4.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.25 and a 200-day moving average of $24.85.

Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $176.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.12 million. Perdoceo Education had a return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 21.66%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Perdoceo Education Co. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perdoceo Education Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Perdoceo Education’s payout ratio is 23.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP John Robert Kline sold 12,148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $313,296.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 130,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,363,144.95. The trade was a 8.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd S. Nelson sold 12,472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.29, for a total value of $327,888.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 615,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,186,674.13. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PRDO shares. Barrington Research increased their target price on shares of Perdoceo Education from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Perdoceo Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

About Perdoceo Education

Perdoceo Education Corporation provides postsecondary education through online, campus-based, and blended learning programs in the United States. It operates in two segments, Colorado Technical University and The American InterContinental University System. The Colorado Technical University segment offers academic programs, such as business and management, nursing, healthcare management, computer science, engineering, information systems and technology, project management, cybersecurity, and criminal justice.